Grade by Grade
D. Structures and Mechanisms · Simple Machines and Movement

Pushes, Pulls and Changing Position

D2.2 D2.1 A2.1 A1.2About 35 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can explain that a push or a pull is a force that can make things move, stop or change direction.
  • I can identify ways to change the position of an object: pushing, pulling, lifting, dropping, rolling, sliding and turning.
  • I can use position words like above, below, beside, left and right.
  • I can write simple step-by-step code to move a robot to a new position.

Words to know

position
Where something is. We describe it with words like on, under, beside, left of and right of.
force
A push or a pull. A force can start something moving, stop it, or change its direction.
push
A force that moves something away from you.
pull
A force that moves something toward you.
gravity
The pull of the Earth. Gravity pulls things down to the ground when you drop them.
code
Step-by-step instructions that a robot or computer follows in order.

Where did it go?

Your toy car is under the couch. Your hat is on top of the fridge. Your boots are beside the door.

These words tell the position of each object. Position means where something is.

How can you get the car out from under the couch? You could pull it out with a broom, or push it out from the other side. Today we learn how to change the position of things.

Pushes and pulls are forces

To move an object, you need a force. A force is a push or a pull.

  • A push moves something away from you. You push a door open. You push a shopping cart.
  • A pull moves something toward you. You pull open a drawer. You pull a sled up a hill.

Forces can make something start moving, stop, speed up, slow down, or change direction. When a goalie stops a puck, the goalie's pad pushes on the puck and stops it.

A person in a winter coat walking through a snowy park, pulling a red sled by its rope.
Pulling the rope moves the sled toward the person. A pull is a force that changes the sled's position. AI-generated image
boxpushpullwagonpush = away from youpull = toward you
A push moves the box away from you. A pull moves the wagon toward you.

Remember from Grade 1

In Grade 1 you found out that a harder push gives a toy car more energy, so it rolls farther and faster. A push is a force. Today you will use pushes and pulls to move things to new positions.

Ways to change position

There are many ways to move an object to a new position:

  • Push it (push a toy car across the floor).
  • Pull it (pull a wagon).
  • Lift it up (pick up a backpack).
  • Drop it (let go of a ball, and gravity pulls it down to the floor).
  • Roll it (roll a snowball across the yard).
  • Slide it (slide a book across the table).
  • Turn or twist it (turn a jar lid, turn a page).
Position wordExample
on / on top ofThe mitten is on the table.
under / belowThe cat is under the bed.
aboveThe clock is above the door.
beside / next toThe boots are beside the mat.
in front of / behindThe tree is behind the house.
left of / right ofThe fork is left of the plate.
Words that describe position
ball ON the tablelamp ABOVE the tablecat UNDER the tablebox BESIDEthe table
Position words tell where something is: on, above, under, beside. Push the box, and you change its position!
Worked example

Let's change an object's position

A ball is on the table. How can you make it end up on the floor? Give three ways.

  1. Push it: give it a little push so it rolls off the edge.
  2. Lift it: pick it up and put it on the floor.
  3. Drop it: hold it over the floor and let go. Gravity pulls it down.
  4. Each way uses a force: a push, a lift (an upward push), or gravity's pull.

Push it off the table, lift it down, or drop it. Each one changes its position from on the table to on the floor.

Coding: giving a robot directions

A robot cannot guess what to do. It follows code: clear steps, one at a time, in order. Coders break a big job into small steps.

Our robot 🤖 needs to move to the box 📦 to push it. Each square on the grid is one step. The robot faces right (toward the box).

column 1column 2column 3column 4
row 1🤖⬜⬜⬜
row 2⬜⬜⬜⬜
row 3⬜⬜📦⬜
row 4⬜⬜⬜⬜
The robot is in row 1, column 1. The box is in row 3, column 3.
Worked example

Let's write code to move the robot

Write code so the robot moves to the square just above the box (row 2, column 3). The robot can do: move forward 1, turn right, turn left.

  1. Break it into small steps. First move right along row 1. Then move down.
  2. The robot faces right. To get from column 1 to column 3, it moves forward 2 times.
  3. Now it is in row 1, column 3. To go down, it must turn right (now it faces down).
  4. Move forward 1 time. It is now in row 2, column 3, just above the box.
  5. Test the code by moving your finger on the grid, one step at a time.

Code: move forward 1, move forward 1, turn right, move forward 1. The robot is now right above the box, ready to push it down.

1. move forward 1
2. move forward 1
3. turn right
4. move forward 1
5. move forward 1 (this pushes the box down to row 4)

Our robot code. Each line is one small step, done in order.

row 1row 2row 3row 4col 1col 2col 3col 4robotboxboxturnrightbox ispushedforward 2, turn right, forward 1, forward 1
Follow the code with your finger: forward 2, turn right, forward 1, forward 1. On the last step the robot pushes the box down to row 4.

Debugging

If the robot ends up in the wrong place, there is a bug in the code. Coders debug by walking through the steps one at a time to find the mistake. Mistakes are part of learning!

Funny but true

Have you ever pushed hard on a door that said PULL? Almost everyone has! Now you know the sign is just telling you which force to use.

Hands-on activity

Push, pull, lift and drop investigation

You need: a small toy car, a ball, a sock with a few coins tied inside, a piece of string, and a ruler or tape measure.

  1. Push the toy car gently. Then push it harder. Which push made it go farther? Measure with the ruler.
  2. Tie the string to the car. Pull it toward you. Pull it around a chair leg. Can a pull change its direction?
  3. Drop the ball and the sock from the same height. Both fall down. Gravity pulls them both.
  4. Be a robot! A grown-up writes code on paper, like "step forward 3, turn left, step forward 2." Follow it exactly. Where did you end up? Then write code for the grown-up to follow to reach the fridge.

What to look for: a harder push makes the car go farther; a pull on a string can steer the car; everything dropped falls down. Safety: drop only soft or unbreakable things, and keep the path clear when being a robot.

Your turn

1

Is opening a drawer a push or a pull?

2

Is closing a door a push or a pull?

3

What is a force?

4

You let go of an apple. Which way does it move? What pulls it?

5

Name two ways to move a ball from one side of the room to the other.

6

The robot faces right. The code says "move forward 3". How many squares does it move, and which way?

7

Fill in the position word: The sun is ______ the clouds. (above / under)

More practice: warm-up

1

Is kicking a soccer ball a push or a pull?

2

Is pulling a sled up a hill a push or a pull?

3

What does "position" mean?

4

What pulls a snowflake down to the ground?

5

Is a hat on your head or under your head?

More practice: on your own

1

A hockey puck slides toward the net. The goalie stops it. What did the goalie's force do?

2

Name three ways to change the position of a ball.

3

Which push makes a toy car roll farther: a gentle push or a strong push? Why?

4

The robot faces right. Code: move forward 1, turn right, move forward 2. Is it now above or below where it started?

5

Your code moved the robot one square too far. What should you do?

Challenge

1

Look at the grid above. Write code to move the robot from row 1, column 1 to the square left of the box (row 3, column 2). The robot faces right.

2

A ball rolls across the floor and hits a wall. Then it rolls back the other way. What changed its direction?

3

Your little brother can't reach his toque on a high hook. Describe two ways to change the toque's position so he can reach it.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

A force is...

2.

Opening a fridge door is a...

3.

What pulls a dropped mitten down to the floor?

4.

Which word tells position?

5.

What can a force do?

6.

A robot faces right. The code is: move forward 2. Where does it go?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: The position of an object can be changed by pushing, pulling, lifting, dropping, rolling, sliding or turning it. Pushes and pulls are forces (Ontario expectation D2.2, building on D2.1). The grid activity is coding (A2.1): breaking a task into small, ordered steps.

How to help: Use position words during daily routines ("Put your boots beside the mat"). Let your child give you robot code to walk to a room, and follow it exactly, even if it's wrong, so they can debug it. That is the fun part!

Common difficulties:

  • Mixing up push and pull. Ask: "Did it move toward you (pull) or away from you (push)?"
  • Left and right on the grid. Turning is from the robot's point of view, which can be tricky. Let your child stand up and turn their own body.
  • Forgetting gravity is a pull. When something drops, ask "What pulled it down?"